A big part of the problem lay in my writing technique...or rather lack of it. Aside from being a pantser, I also don't write linearly. Which kinda makes life complicated when trying to write a mystery that needs you to keep track of who dies when and how, so that you don't have characters having a conversation when one of them died ten pages back or after a particular clue has come to light, only to become irrelevant in the next chapter. There's also the issue of putting star dates at each new chapter, only to discover you skipped a day or got your numbers wrong. And then there's the original mental block of not being able to write Christmas in Spaaaaaace...except I manage to overcome that a couple of years later and release it officially last year.
Vintro. The planet that had stolen all her dreams.
Melandria Solei has always dreamed of commanding a starship and exploring the universe. When her own dark-eyed older lover steals the position she's worked for, she never expects to go chasing after him in a stolen ship to a world colder than revenge...
But if you're looking for something a little more heartwarming, you can always check out my post from last month with a selection of seasonal scifi romances here.
10 comments:
A non-linear writing pantser? Hmm, I'm a very linear writing pantser and I admire anyone who writes non-linear! Perseverance pays off!
Ultimately it takes a lot more work at the editing stage, but whatever gets it done! And however long it takes.
Congrats on getting the story done and out into the universe!!
Congratulations on your release! I used to be a linear pantser until I realized that forcing myself to be linear and ignoring that brilliant idea for a future scene (I'll remember when the time comes, right? I can't possibly write that brilliant idea now, I haven't gotten to that part of the story yet!), meant I was often stalled. Now that I jump around a bit I'm rarely stalled. Writing a future scene almost always gives me ideas for my current location in the story. I fix blips and transitions in edits.
Love the new cover, Pippa. I'm with Luanna - I usually write linearly, but when an idea comes for later in the book, I write it. As a pantser, I need to do a ton of editing anyway...so why not follow the muse! I did write a book years ago (I think at least 7) in scenes, and jumped around all over the place. It is book 5 in a series, of which I have 4 written and 2 published. I have gone back and figured out where each scene now fits in and someday (hopefully soon - 2022?) I'll piece it all together and edit the heck out of it.
Pippa, the cover is entrancing. I love Solstice stories.
I'm also a pantser but rather linear. Though, on rare occasions I have jumped ahead to write a scene i know about bcause the one I'm working on isn't working. But that's usually only a chapter ahead.
Even though I'm linear I still have the problem you describe of getting dates, times, a person's looks all boggled. So, now 20+ books later, I take notes as I go. Whenever I write Maggie has green hair, I make a note of it in a spreadsheet about Maggie. And when Maggie went to Planet 9 on Feb. 23, 2168 I write that down too.
For a past series, I paid one of my superfans a stipend to do a series bible for me because a couple of fans called me out on changing a scene location from one chapter to the next. Then I went in and changed what she found. It is hard to keep track, even for people who are plotters. But I agree it is much harder for pantsers.
Keep at it
Thank you.
Thanks. Yeah, I tried writing linearly to a rough plot and got bored halfway through. Never finished that story. We have to go with what works, right?
I have different thoughts about being non-linear. I sometimes get strong ideas about future scenes. I may enter some notes about the scene, but I don't write it. Instead, I use it as a carrot to urge me on. "If I can get through this scene and the next, then I'll write my big juicy scene I've been thinking about for the last week."
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